NZIFF 2012 Review: ‘Last Days Here’

Probably the saddest rock-doc of all time, Last Days Here tells the story of Bobby Liebling, the lead singer of a late ‘70s hard-rock band called Pentagram. Never heard of them? No problem. Few have.

Until Sean Pelletier shows up.

Pelletier is a music nerd, an obsessive collector of obscure vinyl and material from obscure bands. Pentagram’s music changed his life, and he takes it upon himself to release all the band’s unreleased material and drag the band out of retirement for one last shot at the big time.

There are obstacles of course. Liebling, when we first meet him, is a hopeless junkie living in his parents’ sub-basement. He shoots smack, smokes large quantities of crack and is convinced he’s infested with parasites – that he tries to gouge out of his flesh with his filthy nails.

All too aware of how unreliable and difficult Liebling can be, most of the band’s members (and over 30 years there have been a lot…) are unwilling to commit to the project. But Pelletier won’t give up. He elicits promises of sobriety from Liebling and for a while, thanks to the love of a rabid fan called Hailley, it looks like Liebling may survive long enough to actually do it.

But when the relationship ends and Liebling is arrested for stalking her, Pelletier begins to wonder if resurrecting his idol is worth the headache.

This is a painful film to watch, but by the end you’ll find yourself rooting for these people and their unlikely dream. There are laughs, but the humour is pitch black and you laugh more in nervous reaction to horror than from anything funny.

I came out questioning the power music has over people – why do these hideous old rockers all end up with gorgeous young girlfriends? Clearly music has a power that can overwhelm reality.

7.5/10